


Shore Leave In Prison

by Perfect_Square



Category: Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Family, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-03 09:32:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13338414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perfect_Square/pseuds/Perfect_Square
Summary: Michael is in prison for her crimes, and Spock takes his shore leave to visit her.





	1. Chapter 1

“Spock,” the Captain paused to give his first officer one of his soulful looks. Gently he continued as if afraid of spooking an animal “in all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never once requested shore leave. Why is it that now, in orbit around a star fleet penal colony that you feel the need to get away?—would not you prefer somewhere nicer?”

The Vulcan’s facial expression, and posture were impassive. “There is no location that I would rather take my leave, Captain.”  
Kirk exhaled. “Very Well.” The Captain tapped an internal communications button, “Bridge to transporter room, be advised: landing party to beam down to planet. Kirk out.”  
“I assure you,Captain, that a landing party is not necessary.”  
“Call it irrational if you will, but the last penal colony we visited was engaging in illegal brainwashing and assault, and I’m not about to send my first officer down to any penal colony, star fleet or otherwise, without backup.”  
“Very well, Captain. May I request only yourself and Dr. McCoy. My visit here is … personal in nature.”  
Kirk paused to glance affectionately over his friend’s face, “Of course Mr. Spock.”

 

McCoy, Spock and Kirk took their places on the transporter coils. Kirk gave the command, “Scotty, energize.” The three beamed down into a comfortable greeting area. The walls were decorated with framed paintings, the floor space included several couches and tables, there were potted plants and also a small fountain sitting atop the front desk. Behind the desk sat a receptionist. A black male humanoid figure. In fact they were completely human, not that Spock or his landing party were aware. It would be a serious faux pas to greet a federation employee by using a tricorder to determine what they were–more rude than the already clearly rude act of demanding what species a person was. 

Spock strode forward first.

“First Officer Spock of the USS Enterprise requesting personal accommodation for myself, Captain Kirk, and chief medical officer Leonard McCoy. Also requesting visitation of prisoner Michael Burnham.” The receptionist tapped several keys on their keyboard, and waved an identification device at the three of them. A pleasant beep sounded off on their computer indicating they were who they said they were. Several more key taps later, the replicator began work on room keys. The receptionist, continued to tap at their keyboard, “It says here that Michael has retained visitation rights in light of good behavior. You should be able to visit her in 1.3 hours at the end of her shift.” The room keys finished printing. The receptionist grabbed the room keys handing them off to Spock, McCoy and the captain in turn. “Why don’t you make yourselves comfortable in the meantime. We’re a long way from pretty much any other colony.”

“176 lightyears,” Spock corrected habitually.  
Captain Kirk cut in, reaching out his hand to shake the receptionists, “Thank you—I’m sorry I did not catch your name.”  
“Oliver Watson, sir.”  
McCoy reached out his hand after Kirk to greet the receptionist, “Pleasure to meet you.”  
Spock gave the handshake an evaluative look, and adjusted his posture, with his hands behind his back.  
Kirk began, “What brings you to Harkan V?”

Oliver smiled, “It’s a good federation job, and it’s quiet. It gives me time to read.” Oliver’s expression turned wistful, “does get kind of lonely, though.”  
“So you don’t have a wife then?” Kirk asked, as McCoy made a face in the background.  
Oliver rolled their eyes despite themselves. “No sir. And don’t want a wife either.”  
Kirk paused for a moment, “a husband then?”  
“No sir. Not interested in a husband either.”  
“…but you must want somebody,” Kirk began.  
Spock interrupted, “Among your species, Captain, there exist a minority of individuals who identify as aromantic. I don’t mean to speculate so openly about Mr. Oliver’s orientation, as I understand that it is considered rude to do so, but I must state that you are in error.” 

“Thank you, Mister Spock,” Oliver added quickly, “but I prefer Mx.”  
Spock raised an eyebrow and said, “Interesting,” as he began to fiddle with his tricorder and universal communicator.  
“Well, Oliver,” McCoy started, “I hope we have not been too rude, and perhaps we’ll see you around.”  
“Have a pleasant stay.”  
Kirk and McCoy began to move towards the elevator room, but Spock remained rooted in place.  
“It would seem Captain, that I must make an error report on the programming of the universal translator.” Spock began to follow the two of them while continuing to inspect his communicator. “In fact, this error—the assumption of two genders—may explain a wide variety of universal translation failures, as these communicators are programmed to communicate in the gender of the speaker. I’ve just run a scan on supplemental human anthropological records, and this oversight is almost unbelievable. I find I must blame human emotional failings in regards to–”  
McCoy interrupted him as the elevator door closed behind them, “Spock. Forget the bloody translator—who’s Michael Burnham.”  
“McCoy” Kirk chided, “Don’t you know your history?” his face scrunched up in disbelief, “Michael Burnham is the first ever star fleet mutineer. She started the interstellar war with the Klingons in 2256.”  
Spock squared himself. “It was never conclusively proven that Michael Burnham was responsible for the start of the Federation-Klingon interstellar war. Michael Burnham is however, the first and only human to date to attend the Vulcan Science Academy, recipient of the Vulcan Scientific Legion of Honor, former first officer of Captain Phillipa Georgiou of the USS Shenzhou, and former science specialist of the decorated USS discovery.”  
McCoy made a surprised expression, “A human in the Vulcan Science Academy!?”  
Kirk added softly, “Is that where you met her?”  
“No. I met her when I was 5.7 earth years old. Our father introduced us. She is my sister.”  
They’d reached their floor, Spock strode off towards their room. McCoy stopped dead in his tracks, making a flabbergasted look at Captain Kirk. Kirk, smiled softly and shrugged. 

Their room had three standard beds, a bar, several chairs and three desks each with their own computer monitor. 

McCoy and Kirk would not let Spock focus on his report. McCoy was pouring himself a glass of scotch as Kirk sat across from Spock.  
“So you have a human sister,” queried Kirk.  
“Yes.”  
“How?!” growled McCoy, as he smashed his glass against a nearby counter.  
“She is adopted. Her birth parents, and all her biological relatives died in a Klingon raid when she was 9.5 earth years old.”  
McCoy simmered down, and spoke softly. “That’s horrible.”  
“Indeed,” Spock paused. 

Eventually it was time to go. Spock had finished his report despite the intrusive personal questions Dr. McCoy and Captain Kirk felt the need to ask, and he felt … nervous. 

Spock passed quickly through the scanners, and was waved on by the technician. He gave a curt nod before approaching where his sister stood waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the bit about the universal translator because of a particular tos episode in which Kirk or McCoy (I don't remember, but I think it was Kirk) states that male and female were universal concepts and were picked up and expressed by the translator. Obviously, that statement is a relic of the time in which TOS was created so when I decided to make Oliver gender queer I decided Spock would not be able to help noticing that the Universal Translators were messed up. It probably would have been easier to just pretend that TOS scene never happened though...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This needs revisions/is a draft.

Michael did not often get in-person visitors. Her best friend, Sylvia Tilly, had vowed to visit her as often as possible, but she was also a star fleet captain. Sylvia’s duties took her across the galaxy and the young captain did not have many opportunities to divert to this particular outpost. The young woman compensated by sending her friend frequent updates on her star-faring life. Michael was happy to receive the messages but still she found that often their contents would also be quite distressing. She had been trained as a scientist, and a star fleet officer, and she found that she missed it. She missed it all. The stars. Looking out from the bridge and recognizing stellar phenomena she’d studied up close, the equations she’d read in the Academy whizzing by in her brain. The planets they had visited with their mysterious and novel life. The whole universe to discover and explore: unique biology, unique cultures, and the fundamental mysteries of physics. So sometimes when Tilly sent Michael a recording of their latest mission logs, Michael did not listen. Because she could not stand how much she wanted all that back.  
  
She’d been ignoring Tilly’s latest message for three days and thirteen hours when a security guard stopped by her cell to inform her that they’d received word a star ship was in orbit, and she had a visitor.  
  
She’d followed the guard out to the visitor center and waited. She’d expected to see Tilly come walking through the security gates, perhaps with a small group of friends from her crew, but instead she saw her brother.  
  
“Spock” she acknowledged.  
  
“Michael” he responded.  
  
She formed the ta’al; it was second nature at this point when greeting a Vulcan. Spock, of course, formed it back. Neither one of them uttered a word of the greeting though as they both fully knew there was no prospering in prison.  
  
“Is your health adequate?”  
  
It was probably as close to a ‘how are you?’ as Michael would expect from her half Vulcan brother.  
  
“Yes.” She paused, changing topics. “What brings you here, Spock? …After all this time”  
  
“I am here to visit you…. We were in the sector. I had not had occasion to divert here until this time.”  
  
Michael gave him a skeptical look. But it was good to see him, so she let it slide. Though she privately suspected that had Spock not shared an aversion to sentimentality and emotions, he would have found the opportunity much sooner.  
  
“How have you been?” she asked.  
  
There was a pause as if Spock were considering the meaning of the question. “I have been in good health. I continue to serve as first officer of the Enterprise.”  
  
Michael was aware. She’d been following his career—at least the portion that was publicly accessible by federation citizens.


End file.
